


from a safe distance

by ohmytheon



Series: daemons and alchemy [20]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemon Feels, Daemon Touching, Daemons, F/M, Gen, Other, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 11:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8371003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: Riza is not dealing with the last few months of her pregnancy very well, especially when she's put on desk duty, but at least she has her daemon to comfort her.





	

Riza was almost certain that Wojciech wouldn’t have let her out of the house during the last month of her pregnancy if not for the fact that her maternity leave hadn’t officially kicked in. The only reason he hadn’t fought with her more about it was that Roy had placed her on desk duty. That had wounded her deeply, not being able to go out in the field and watch Roy’s back. It had been the first big obstacle she’d been forced to face during this pregnancy, though she knew that it would be only one of many.

When their child was born, the real test would begin.

Being chained to a desk just didn’t suit her, but then again, neither did her military uniform right now. The day when she’d had to write up a request for a larger military jacket had been…humiliating, to say the least. Wojciech had stood by her side, looking proud for all the world, but Riza had been downright mortified handing Roy the paperwork, her uniform looking about as straight as Breda’s, unbuttoned enough to show off her black shirt underneath. And Roy said her pregnant belly was cute. Needless to say, Amestrian military uniforms were not good maternity clothes.

Today wasn’t the first day where Roy and the rest of the team went out on the field, leaving her behind, but it still stung nonetheless. She had to watch with hooded eyes as the men suited up. Havoc checked his weapons, once himself and twice so she could, Hiroko bounding around his desk excitedly. Fuery piled an assortment of communications gear in a box, taking out a piece here and there when he decided that he didn’t need it, while Ada sat on his desk and peered inside the box, fiddling with a headset. Breda was pulling on his military jacket, reminding Riza of her daily struggle, although even he was more graceful than her. His Sumati caught her watching and lolled out her tongue in a pleasant dog grin.

Riza jerked her gaze away and determinedly stared down at her paperwork, refusing to look up even when Roy swept into the interior room, his black coat already flapping behind him like there was a breeze. He had a special talent in that. Shula padded after him, looking regal and strong as always. She thought that Shula’s eyes had started to shine a little brighter since Riza announced the pregnancy, like back the way they did before she and Roy were forcibly severed.

“You know your positions,” Roy spoke, the other men “yes, sir"ing in response.

Sparing one more glance up, Riza caught eyes with Havoc, who gave her a small salute and grin. He had Roy’s back. He had done remarkably to step up in her place while she was on desk duty. It hadn’t been her place to ask it of him, but he had done so without her even posing the question. Her attention was dragged away from him when a walkie-talkie was abruptly sat on her desk. Peering towards the source of the radio equipement, she found herself looking up at Roy.

“Fuery modified it so that it has a longer range,” Roy explained. “That way you’ll be able to stay in contact while we’re out in the field.”

She would never confess to sinking in her seat in relief, but the way she gently picked up the walkie-talkie and held it in her hands almost reverently spoke enough. Wojciech sniffed at the equipment in her hands before turning his attention back to Roy. He would’ve gone with them if he could, if only to make her feel better about partially being able to watch over Roy, but Wojciech was loathed to leave her for even a moment these days. There had been no complications with the pregnancy so far, but he wouldn’t chance it. Quite frankly, neither would Roy. She wouldn’t put it past him to have ordered Wojciech to keep an eye on her and report to him if anything was amiss - and Wojciech obliging with the order.

With the rest of the men out of the office, Shula stood on her hind legs to put her front paws on her desk, careful to keep her claws retracted so that she wouldn’t damage the wood. She pressed her head carefully into Riza, rubbing under her chin. A deep, pleased hum reverberated throughout her chest and into Riza’s. She felt that same spark of fire that she always did - the fire that would forever be a part of Roy’s soul - but it wasn’t hot like it used to be. Roy’s breath didn’t halt and he didn’t clench his fists at his side and he didn’t blink rapidly like he used to whenever Riza would touch his daemon. But he smiled faintly.

“I can almost feel that little cub’s soul, I think,” Shula said quietly as she went back down on all fours.

“You mean ‘pup’, of course,” Wojciech added, a playful wolf grin on his scarred face.

After Shula swiped at his paws, the two large daemons brushed against each other, Wojciech pressing his head against Shula’s chest and neck. Wojciech would never look small compared to another daemon, but Shula was still bigger than him. Riza had always loved that about Shula.

“Don’t worry,” Roy told her, “we’ll be fine.”

“It’s my job to worry,” Riza pointed out.

“Not right now,” Roy said, the fondest look in his eyes, the kind of look that he didn’t dare show when other people were around, not even the team. “Now it’s my job to worry about you.”

Riza’s heart ached something awful as she watched Roy and Shula walk out of the office with only Wojciech to keep her company. He sat at her side, head in her lap, while she attempted to focus on paperwork. She kept one hand on his head as she held a pen with the other. Her eyes glanced to the radio on her desk every time it crackled, her stomach twisting painfully when she feared something might go wrong. She was utterly grateful for Wojciech’s steady presence. She would’ve torn her hair out or paced the office irritably without him. He kept her grounded in a way that she couldn’t explain.

By the time the team came back, flush with success, Riza was ready to tear out after them, gun in hand. Wojciech would’ve grabbed hold of her uniform to hold her back, though it honestly wouldn’t have taken much effort on his part. Havoc and Breda high-fived before collapsing in their seats, Hiroko and Sumati goofing off with one another like they were drunk. Even Ada was chittering excitedly, sitting in the box of equipment as Fuery carried them inside. Riza forced herself to sit down and relax as Roy and Shula strode inside, shoulders both held back and head high, matching triumphant smirks on their faces.

The mission went flawlessly without her. It didn’t sting like she thought it might, not when she was filled with so much relief. Not when it looked like for the first time in years that Roy and Shula were connected and Truth had never severed them.

For the rest of the day, the men were too amped up on adrenaline to pay much attention to paperwork. That would get done tomorrow in a rush. Roy sent them all home early with the promise that they’d work extra hard later, congratulating them with a smile on his face. Riza did not complain about getting to go home, not when her back ached and she was tired and hungry, but she still didn’t like the fact that Roy was the one driving now. Not that he wasn’t a safe driver - he’d certainly become a lot more cautious and rule-abiding after she became pregnant - but it made her feel, well, pitiful. Like Roy was doing everything for her.

She knew that she shouldn’t be grumpy about it, so she never spoke her discomfort over the turn of events. She knew why Roy was doing this. He wanted to do as much as he could now while she was pregnant before she gave birth. It would be impossible for him to be around all the time once the baby was born, not with them doing everything in their power to hide the fact that he was the father. He was trying to make up for time that he would lose in the future. It wouldn’t work - he would feel guilty no matter what - so she said nothing to stop him.

Once at her place, Roy parked and looked at her, so many words in his mouth and emotions in his eyes, but nothing came out. He opened his mouth and then closed it, licking his lips in anticipation. Behind them, Shula sighed. Even not being connected, she felt Roy’s struggle.

“It’s okay,” Riza said softly. “I know.”

Wojciech stuck his head in between the seats so that Roy could hold it with his two heads, pressing their foreheads together. A jolt of electricity ran down Riza’s spine and she took a deep breath. She smiled, even through the discomfort, when she felt the baby kick, as if it too could feel whenever Roy held her soul.

Riza went into her apartment with Wojciech without another word. Only when she turned on her light did the hear the car start again and pull away. Roy and Shula were so tied up with being worried about her, especially her being alone, but Riza that that wasn’t true exactly. She would never be alone, not with Wojciech at her side, and her daemon worried about her enough for all three of them combined, even if he did act steady as a river. She knew his nerves though - could feel them shiver through him whenever she went to see Dr. Knox - she knew his metal - could feel it in the way he glared at anyone that looked at her sideways - and she knew his joy - could feel it glow around him whenever he peered into baby’s room that Rebecca was gleefully decorating.

After showering, she donned loose pajama pants and a thin, stretched out tank top and house slippers, despite it only being six in the afternoon. She didn’t care though. All she wanted was some comfort after wearing an awkward-fitting uniform and boots all day. As she curled up on the couch with a book, music playing lightly in the background, Wojciech crawled onto it as well, managing despite his size, and she held up the book so he could lay his head in her lap again. It was his favorite spot. He liked having his ear pressed to her belly.

Absorbed as she was in the book, Riza started a bit when she felt Wojciech lick her belly gently where her tank top had risen slightly. She could almost remember a time when Roy would growl that that tiny slip of her skin was tantalizing. Now it just made her feel awkward and swollen. She peered down at him surprise and Wojciech somehow managed to look sheepish.

“Ayn said belly licks are good for human mothers and babies,” Wojciech pointed out in such a sweet voice. It was so kind and soft, unlike anyone thought Wojciech was capable of. Everyone saw him as tough, hard, and fierce. Even when he acted a dog with Hiroko sometimes, he was always a wolf in the end. But Riza knew that there were times when Wojciech was as gentle as, well, a kitten. He was loving and devoted. He’d often played this role after Anima was returned to Al, licking the bobcat daemon, and had nuzzled Alethea in the rain after the Nina Tucker incident.

Riza smiled. “Did she now?”

“I’m beginning to think she was teasing me for worrying so much,” Wojciech sighed as he laid his head back against her stomach. Smoothing his fur all the way down his back, Riza hummed thoughtfully. “But I can’t help but be scared. I keep worrying that I won’t be enough to protect you.”

“Wojciech,” Riza told her daemon, “you will always be enough. Always.”

Her daemon looked up at her with such sad, understanding, golden eyes. “And you always deserve more. I keep telling you that.”


End file.
